KYIV, Ukraine — On Saturday, Russian drone and missile strikes inflicted casualties in Ukraine, leading to the tragic deaths of at least two individuals, including a 9-year-old girl. This loss comes amidst ongoing ambiguity about whether Ukrainian officials will participate in the proposed peace negotiations by Moscow, slated for early next week in Istanbul.
Overnight attacks saw Russian forces deploy approximately 109 drones and five missiles across various parts of Ukraine, as reported by the Ukrainian air force. They managed to intercept three of the missiles and 42 drones, while an additional 30 drones missed their targets without inflicting any harm.
In the Zaporizhzhia region, a strike on the village of Dolynka resulted in the death of a young girl and injured a 16-year-old, as detailed by Governor Ivan Fedorov. He reported that the explosion obliterated one residence and the blast wave damaged multiple houses, cars, and other structures nearby.
Another fatality was recorded in the Kherson region, where Russian artillery claimed the life of a man, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
Moscow refrained from commenting on these assaults. However, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday that its forces had taken control of the village of Novopil in the Donetsk region and Vodolahy in the northern Sumy region. In response to the mounting threat, Ukrainian authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations in 11 additional settlements, bringing the total in the Sumy area, which borders Russia’s Kursk region, to 213 settlements.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned of the significant presence of roughly 50,000 Russian troops potentially poised for an offensive aiming to create a buffer zone within Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine’s military leader Oleksandr Syrskyi indicated that Russian forces are concentrating their main assault efforts in parts of the Donetsk region, particularly around Pokrovsk, Toretsk, and Lyman, as well as near the Sumy border. He also noted that despite Moscow’s claims, Ukrainian forces continue to maintain a presence within Russia’s Kursk region.
In a separate incident, 14 individuals, including four children, suffered injuries when Ukrainian drones targeted residential buildings in Russia, hitting both the town of Rylsk and the village of Artakovo in the western Kursk region. This was confirmed by acting Governor Alexander Khinshtein.
As for the peace talks, Andrii Yermak, a senior advisor to President Zelenskyy, expressed Kyiv’s readiness to engage in direct negotiations with Russia in Istanbul. However, he emphasized the need for the Kremlin to present a promised memorandum outlining its position to terminate the ongoing conflict, now extending beyond three years. Zelenskyy accused Russia of “undermining diplomacy” by withholding the document and highlighted the lack of clarity regarding the format of the discussions, despite Russia’s previous commitment to deliver the memorandum during the talks.